Cross: Whittall wins in latest Notts and Derby Lge race

Nottingham rider Gareth Whittall took victory in round seven of the SRAM Notts and Derby League staged by VC Nottingham at Bingham Leisure Centre in the East Midlands town on Saturday.

The 32-year-old local crossed the line around eight seconds ahead of his nearest rival at the end of the senior race, to take his first win of the current league.

His previous best this season was second in round four, although he has tasted victory this season when he won the opening round of the West Midlands League.

Paul Cox (Pedal Power Loughborough) took second spot at Bingham, while 20 seconds behind was Kyle Burleigh (Fossa Racing).

Top under-23 rider was Lewis Tarnai-Wilson (Ashfield RC), who was about a minute and a half behind Whittall in fifth, while fastest junior was George Baker (Kings Cliffe Flyers) in 15th, around five minutes behind the winner.

There was also a local victor in the veterans and women’s race, with Nottingham Clarion rider David Ash taking the win by 1-27 from Peak Road Club’s Dan Cook in second, while Derby Mercury RC’s Matthew Crouch was another 20 seconds off the pace in third.

Fastest of the females was Christine Howard (Matlock CC) who was 1-16 ahead of hear nearest rival, Madeline Smith (Bolsover and District CC).

Sherwood Pines rider Joshua Waters won the youth race by 24 seconds from Matlock CC rival William Gascoyne, while Oliver Peckover (Sherwood Pines0 was another 14 seconds behind in third place.

There was a good battle for top honours in the girls race, with Poppy Wildman (Nottingham Clarion) winning by just 12 seconds from Madeline Gammons (Bourne Wheelers).

British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.